Half a million people have visited the three museums of the Finnish National Gallery

The Ernesto Neto and Choi Jeong Hwa exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Japanomania in the Nordic Countries 1875–1918, Alice Neel, and Stories of Finnish Art in the Ateneum Art Museum, and the Russian Masters – from Aivazovsky to Repin exhibition in the Sinebrychoff Art Museum have brought half a million visitors to the Finnish National Gallery’s museums in 2016. “It has been great to see how varied and lively this year has been for the Finnish National Gallery”, rejoices General Director Risto Ruohonen of the Finnish National Gallery. After the Ateneum’s roof renovation was finished in March, the National Gallery’s museums have had full exhibition capacity and it has shown in both the number of visitors as well as the amount of positive feedback received. The Museum Card has lowered the threshold to view exhibitions more than once and card-using customers have visited the National Gallery’s museums over 96,000 times.

Museum Director Leevi Haapala from Kiasma, shares Ruohonen’s joy. “200,000 people have visited Kiasma during the first part of the year”, Haapala says. “The Ernesto Neto and Choi Jeong Hwa exhibitions have clearly appealed deeply to our visitors with their humane and engaging touch.”

The ongoing fundraising for the Finnish National Gallery will ensure that top-level exhibitions and diverse public activities will remain a mainstay of the museums in the future. “International names such as Modigliani and public events held in connection with the exhibitions are potential uses for the funds that are being raised at the moment. The return on investment for the raised funds will ensure flexibility in designing future programming and public work”, Ruohonen emphasizes.

Additional information about the fundraising: www.kansallisgalleria.fi

Exhibitions at the Finnish National Gallery’s museums in the latter part of 2016:

Ateneum Art Museum
Stories of Finnish Art ­­– ongoing
Alice Neel 10.6.–2.10.
Amedeo Modigliani 28.10.–5.2.2017

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma
Collection Exhibition 22.4.–29.1.2017
Jani Ruscica 4.3.–4.9.
Ernesto Neto 4.3.–4.9.
Choi Jeong Hwa 22.4.–18.9.
Mona Hatoum 7.10.–26.2.2017
Meeri Koutaniemi 7.10.–26.2.2017

Sinebrychoff Art Museum
Venetian Fantasies – Pieraccini’s Tiepolo Collection 2.6.–4.9.
Icons – Holy, Beautiful and Secular 16.4.–31.12.
Still Life – The World on Display 29.9.–31.12.2017